re;,:  — 


Gil 

C 


THE  CORDAGE  INDUSTRY. 


Tiie  infancy  of  this  industry  was  marked  by  great  feebleness,  but  perhaps  not  more 
so  than  the  average  of  American  manufactures.  Rope-making  formed  one  of  the 
principal  branches  of  industry  from  the  early  days  of  the  colonies,  and  a  ropevvalk 
appears  to  have  been  first  set  up  in  1642,  in  Boston,  Mass.,  twelve  years  after  the  town 
was  founded.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1638  Boston  was  "rather 
a  village  than  a  town,  consisting  of  no  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  houses.”  Prior  to  that 
time  nearly  every  kind  of  rigging  and  tackle  for  vessels  was  brought  from  England. 

With  the  building  of  the  first  ship  in  Boston,  the  Trial ,  of  160  tons,  and  probably 
on  account  of  its  construction,  John  Harrison,  a  rope-maker,  was  invited  to  Boston  from 
Salisbury,  "on  mocon  of  some  gentlemen  of  this  town,”  and  he  set  up  his  ropewalk  or 
"rope-field,”  ten  feet  ten  inches  wide,  on  the  land  adjoining  his  house  on  Purchase 
Street,  at  the  foot  of  Summer  Street.  The  work  was  done  in  the  open  field.  Posts 
were  set  in  the  ground  firmly  enough  to  suspend  cords  and  rope  of  no  inconsiderable 
circumference. 

Harrison  was  granted  a  monopoly  of  the  business  until  1663,  when  permission  was 
granted  to  John  Heyman  to  "set  up  his  posts,”  but  with  "libertie  onely  to  make  fishing 
lines”;  but  even  this  license  was  found  so  to  interfere  with  Harrison  —  who  was  now 
advanced  in  years  and  had  a  family  of  eleven  persons  —  that  it  caused  him  to  fear  that 
he  could  not  support  them,  and  Ileyman’s  permit  was  accordingly  withdrawn.  An  addi¬ 
tional  argument  employed  to  bring  about  this  revocation  was  the  scarcity  of  hemp  ! 
After  Harrison’s  death  ropewalks  multiplied  in  number,  and  at  the  West  and  North  Ends 
of  the  town  for  sixty  years  there  were  fourteen  ropewalks.  In  1793  the  industry  was 
thriving,  no  doubt  greatly  fostered  by  a  bounty  granted  by  the  General  Court. 

July  30,  1794,  in  a  great  fire,  seven  ropewalks  were  destroyed;  and  the  selectmen 
provided  that  no  more  should  be  constructed  in  the  heart  of  the  town,  and  tendered  the 
use  of  the  low  land  west  of  the  Common,  where  six  others  were  at  once  constructed,  20  to 
24  feet  wide  and  900  feet  in  length.  These  were  also  destroyed  by  fire  in  1806.  Five 
were  rebuilt,  and  were  all  once  more  burned  in  1819.  The  elder  Quincy,  in  the  first 
year  of  his  mayoralty,  with  his  usual  energy  and  sagacity,  promptly  removed  all  of 
these,  with  marked  improvement  to  the  neighborhood,  and  the  land  was  purchased  for 
$55,000  on  February  25,  1824. 

So  much  for  the  earlv  beginnings  of  this  industry.  It  is  with  a  smile  that  we  read 
that  "in  the  federal  procession  of  1788  the  men  employed  in  this  industry  outnumbered 
any  other  class  of  mechanics  in  Boston,”  and  that  in  1794  over  fifty  men  were 
employed  in  this  branch  alone.”  The  work  in  the  old  ropewalks,  although  done  mostly 


;V/~"T7V  ior.^Q 


3 

by  hand,  was  in  some  cases  supplemented  by  horse  or  water  power.  The  workmen 
resented  the  employment  of  any  hands  who  had  not  served  a  regular  apprenticeship  at 
the  trade,  and  there  was  bitter  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  machinery. 

Besides  the  ropewalks  previously  mentioned,  Nantucket  had,  in  the  height  of  her 
prosperity,  three,  none  of  which  now  exist.  Newburyport  had  a  good-sized  ropewalk 
for  those  days.  There  was  one  at  Castine,  Me.  One  was  on  Broadway,  New  York, 
before  the  Revolution,  and  others  were  found  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Early  in  the 
century  Samuel  Pearson  owned  and  operated  one  in  Portland,  Me.  His  two  sons, 
Samuel  and  George  C.  Pearson,  having  learned  the  trade  with  their  father,  were  after¬ 
ward  interested  in  steam  plants  at  and  near  Boston.  Still  later  they  started  the  Suffolk 
Cordage  Company,  which  grew  into  the  Pearson  Cordage  Company,  now  one  of  the 
largest  mills  in  the  country. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  his  father  (Samuel),  Mr.  Charles  H.  Pearson,  who  had 
been  identified  with  him  and  the  other  son,  became  connected  with  the  Boston  Cordage 
Company,  and  still  later  with  the  Standard  Cordage  Company.  Mr.  Samuel  Pearson 
made  many  inventions  in  rope-machines  and  in  regulators  for  spinning. 

Mr.  A.  L.  Tubbs,  of  California,  bought  most  of  the  machinery  in  one  of  the  old 
Boston  mills  and  shipped  it  to  California.  He  started  the  business  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  at  the  present  day  controls  the  two  or  three  factories  now  located  there. 

Up  to  about  1850  it  was  the  custom  to  import  spun  yarns  to  be  made  into  cordage. 
These  yarns  were  chiefly  spun  by  Russian  serfs,  and  could  be  furnished  for  less  money 
than  similar  ones  made  here  ;  but  the  introduction  of  improved  machinery  gradually  cut 
off  these  importations,  and  hardly  any  spun  yarns  were  bought  after  1865. 

The  period  between  1830  and  1850  witnessed  the  starting  of  what  may  be  termed 
the  modern  factory,  in  distinction  from  the  crude  and  primitive  mode  of  manufacture 
before  existing.  The  difference  between  the  two  methods  was  this  :  in  the  old-fash¬ 
ioned  ropewalk  the  twisting  of  fibers  was  done  by  a  man  walking  backward  down  the 
walk,  spinning  from  the  hemp  round  his  waist,  the  twist  being  imparted  from  a  wheel 
turned  by  a  boy.  The  possible  length  of  the  rope  could  thus  be  no  greater  than  the  length 
of  the  building  or  ground.  Longfellow’s  description,  in  his  poem  on  "The  Ropewalk,” 
is  too  fine  to  be  omitted,  even  in  a  commercial  article : 

“In  that  building,  long  and  low, 

With  its  windows  all  a-row, 

Like  the  port-holes  of  a  hulk, 

Human  spiders  spin  and  spin, 

Backward  down  their  threads  so  thin 
Dropping,  each  a  hempen  bulk. 

“  At  the  end,  an  open  door ; 

Squares  of  sunshine  on  the  floor 
Light  the  long  and  dusky  lane ; 

And  the  whirring  of  a  wheel, 

Dull  and  drowsy,  makes  me  feel 
All  its  spokes  are  in  my  brain.” 

In  the  modern  factory  the  twist  is  imparted  by  rapidly  rotating  machinery  similar  to  that 


? 


29205 


4 

used  in  cotton  and  woollen  mills,  making  it  possible  to  spin  on  an  upright  apparatus  occu¬ 
pying  but  a  few  square  feet,  a  rope  of  several  thousand  feet  in  length.  For  some 
purposes,  however,  the  ropewalk  rope,  as  it  is  called,  is  still  held  to  be  superior  to  that 
manufactured  by  the  other  process.  When  rope  was  made  without  use  of  the  ropewalk, 
it  was  the  custom  to  call  it  "patent  cordage,  ”  to  distinguish  it  from  the  old  style  of  rope¬ 
walk  rope,  and  the  name  is  still  used  by  some  firms. 

The  inventions  and  patents  of  most  consequence  and  in  most  general  use  are  those 
of  John  Good,  of  New  York  City,  whose  spreaders  and  breakers  did  away  with  the  use 
of  lappers,  and  whose  nipper  and  regulator  on  spinning-machines  have  given  universal 
satisfaction,  although  with  the  perfecting  of  "preparation  machinery”  the  use  of  a  regu¬ 
lator  has  in  many  instances  been  discontinued. 

The  era  of  the  largest  mills  commenced  in  1878,  after  the  invention  of  the  self-bind¬ 
ing  harvester.  Among  the  factories  started  during  the  period  alluded  to  were  Sewall, 
Day  &  Company  of  Boston  (1835)  ;  Pearson  Cordage  Company  of  Boston  ;  J.  Nickerson 
&  Company  of  Boston  ;  Weaver,  Fitler  &  Company  of  Philadelphia  (afterward  and  at 
the  present  day  Edwin  H.  Fitler  &  Company)  ;  Plymouth  Cordage  Company  of 
Plymouth,  Mass.;  Ilingham  Cordage  Company  of  Hingham,  Mass.;  New  Bedford 
Cordage  Company  of  New  Bedford,  Mass.  (1842)  ;  Baumgardner,  Woodward  &  Com¬ 
pany  of  Philadelphia;  J.  T.  Donnell  &  Company  of  Bath,  Me.;  William  Wall  &  Sons 
of  New  York  City  ;  Lawrence  Waterbury  &  Company  of  New  York  ;  Tucker,  Carter  & 
Company  of  New  York ;  Elizabethport  Steam  Cordage  Company  of  New  York ; 
Thomas  Jackson  &  Son  of  Easton,  Pa.  ;  J.  Rinek’s  Sons  of  Easton,  Pa.  ;  and  John 
Bonte’s  Sons  of  Cincinnati. 

The  market  for  cordage  in  those  days  being  largely  for  export  and  the  use  of  ships, 
it  will  be  noticed  that  the  manufacture  was  mainly  confined  to  Atlantic  seaports.  In  later 
times,  with  the  decline  of  American  shipping,  the  substitution  of  wire  for  hemp  standing 
rigging,  and  especially  after  the  great  demand  for  binder  twine,  all  this  was  changed, 
and  factories  rapidly  multiplied  at  the  West,  Peoria,  Miamisburg,  Akron,  and  Xenia 
taking  an  important  part  in  the  business. 

As  late  as  the  year  1843  the  total  quantity  of  Manila  hemp  manufactured  in  the 
United  States  was  only  27,820  bales  or  7,511,400  pounds.  This  amount  of  hemp  could, 
in  1895,  easily  be  brought  from  Manila  in  three  sailing-ships  or  in  two  steamers  —  the 
latter  capable  of  making  the  voyage  in  fifty  or  sixty  days  by  the  way  of  the  Suez  Canal, 
to  New  York,  Boston,  or  Philadelphia.  Moreover,  one  of  half  a  dozen  of  the  larger 
mills  in  the  country  could,  in  1895,  manufacture  the  whole  quantity  of  Manila  hemp 
used  in  the  year  1843,  in  the  space  of  fifty  days,  bv  running  night  and  day. 

In  1863  the  business  had  increased  to  five  times  its  size  in  1843.  \\  ith  the  War  of 

the  Rebellion  came  a  great  demand  for  cordage ;  and  as  hemps  rapidly  advanced  in 
price,  in  common  with  all  other  staples,  it  was  an  era  of  great  prosperity  to  the  cordage 
industry.  Orders  were  so  numerous  that  it  was  deemed  a  favor  to  a  customer  to  supply 
him  ;  and  it  is  within  the  knowledge  of  the  writer  that  the  profits  of  one  Eastern  factory 
during  that  epoch  amounted  in  one  year  to  $250,000,  nor  was  their  experience  at  all 
exceptional. 


5 

It  was  in  i860  that  the  first  importations  of  Sisal  hemp  were  made.  Commencing 
with  the  manufacture  of  about  200  tons  in  that  year,  its  use  rapidly  extended,  becoming 
in  a  few  years  an  important  factor  in  the  trade.  In  ten  years  it  amounted  to  3500  tons, 
in  twenty  years  to  13,000  tons,  in  thirty  years  to  34,000  tons,  and  in  thirty-five  years  to 
50,000  tons. 

With  the  extension  of  the  business  and  the  increase  of  factories,  both  in  number  and 
in  importance,  there  was  found  to  be  a  necessity  for  some  regulation  of  the  prices  of 
cordage.  The  first  agreement  between  the  cordage  manufacturers  was  entered  into 
February  23,  1861,  the  object  being  to  correct  certain  abuses  which  had  prevailed 
among  firms  engaged  in  the  trade.  Weekly  meetings  were  held  by  the  manufacturers 
in  their  respective  cities,  and  opportunity  afforded  for  any  complaints  or  any  suggestion 
about  the  condition  of  trade  and  the  regulation  of  prices.  The  object,  as  stated  by  one 
of  the  Eastern  manufacturers,  was  "to  look  each  other  in  the  face  and  maintain  prices.  ” 
Various  amendments  were  from  time  to  time  made  in  this  agreement  of  1861,  but  in  July, 
1874,  a  careful  revision  was  made  and  the  manufacturers  pledged  themselves,  "as  men 
of  honor  and  integrity,  ”  to  the  true  and  faithful  observance  of  the  rules.  A  stronger 
agreement  was  made  in  April,  1875  ;  but  complaints  of  underselling,  answered  with 
various  excuses,  were  frequent,  and,  there  being  no  pecuniary  penalty,  the  ingenuity  of 
the  manufacturers  finally  hit  upon  what  was  known  as  the  "  pool  system.”  This  went 
into  operation  January  1,  1878.  The  business  was  divided  among  the  manufacturers  in 
proportions  which  seemed  just,  and  when  the  business  of  one  concern  exceeded  during 
any  month  the  proportion  which  its  share  bore  to  the  total  business  done,  according  to  the 
returns,  it  would  pay  in  so  much  per  pound  on  the  excess.  In  case  a  concern  fell  short 
it  would  be  a  recipient  to  that  extent. 

It  was  supposed  that  this  arrangement  would  act  as  a  preventive  to  the  cutting  of 
prices,  and  it  undoubtedly  had  that  effect  to  some  extent.  The  novelty  of  the  plan  was 
also  in  its  favor,  and  on  the  whole  it  worked  well  enough  amply  to  repay  the  great 
amount  of  labor  expended  in  securing  its  adoption.  The  percentages  ranged  from 
eleven  and  one-fourth  to  one  per  cent. 

In  1880  the  amount  of  the  pool  was  reduced  from  two  cents  to  one  cent  per  pound, 
and  in  June  of  that  year  to  one-fourth  cent;  but  in  January,  1881,  the  pool  was  abol¬ 
ished.  In  April,  1882,  however,  it  was  deemed  best  to  re-establish  it,  and  on  the  28th 
of  June  the  proportions  were  again  agreed  upon  for  three  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  time  the  new  concerns  which  had  grown  up  were  taken  into  the  association,  and 
after  much  labor,  lasting  from  February  to  July,  1885,  a  new  pool  was  formed,  and  the 
proportions  as  fixed  by  the  committee  were  accepted. 

No  one  who  was  present  will  ever  forget  the  magnificent  banquet  given  at  Long 
Branch,  on  the  29th  of  July,  1885,  to  the  members  of  the  association,  by  the  Hon.  Edwin  H. 
Fitler,  of  Philadelphia,  who,  as  president  for  many  years,  had  been  untiring  in  his 
efforts  to  unite  the  members  and  preserve  harmony.  Equal  honor  should  be  awarded  to 
Mr.  Frederick  Davis  of  Sewall,  Day  &  Company  of  Boston,  and  to  Mr.  D.  B.  Whit¬ 
lock  of  New  York,  for  many  years  secretary  of  the  association,  who  died  in  1888. 

In  April,  1887,  before  the  expiration  of  the  time  agreed  upon  at  the  formation  of 


6 

the  last  pool,  it  was  broken  up;  and  the  next  event  of  great  interest  was  the  formation 
and  incorporation  of  the  National  Cordage  Company.  This  was  composed  of  the  four 
leading  concerns  in  New  York  City;  and  although  their  circular,  dated  August  i,  1887, 
announced  that  their  "large  facilities  and  long-established  reputation  were  a  guaranty  that 
they  could  fulfil  all  that  they  promised  to  do,”  yet  the  successful  accomplishment  of 
their  aims  would  have  demonstrated  that  the  age  of  miracles  was  not  wholly  past.  The 
projectors  were,  no  doubt,  sanguine  enough  really  to  believe  that  it  was  possible  to  con¬ 
trol  the  product  and  prices  of  Manila  and  Sisal  hemp,  but  the  attempt  was  a  failure. 
An  effort  was  made  to  subsidize  the  houses  and  brokers  engaged  in  the  trade,  but  they 
did  not  remain  subsidized,  and  the  scheme  would  not  woi^.  In  some  remarks  made  by 
the  writer,  May  27,  1886,  in  the  Old  South  Church,  Boston,  at  a  meeting  called  to 
discuss  the  Morrison  tariff  bill,  he  said;  "The  day  of  monopolies  in  this  country  is  past, 
and  there  is  no  danger  but  that  the  competition  among  ourselves,  with  the  wonderful  and 
ever-increasing  labor-saving  appliances  and  economical  devices  of  the  present  day,  will 
keep  down  prices,  in  our  own  products  at  least,  to  a  reasonable  point.” 

Thus  it  was  with  the  attempt  alluded  to.  The  time  had  gone  by  for  anv  such 
arrangement  to  be  more  than  temporary,  and  measures  to  undermine  the  project  were 
taken  by  those  who  did  not  propose  to  give  up  their  individual  judgment  in  purchasing 
raw  material ;  and  it  is  not  strange  that,  with  the  immutable  laws  of  trade  working  in 
their  favor,  these  measures  were  at  once  and  continually  successful.  The  National 
Cordage  Company  was  in  the  position  of  a  whale  attacked  by  swordfish.  The  whale 
was  only  one  organization,  and  was  cumbersome  and  unwieldy  ;  the  swordfish  were 
numerous  and  extremely  lively  in  their  movements,  and  the  result  of  the  conflict  was 
what  might  reasonably  have  been  expected.  The  whale  was  exhausted  by  his  attempts 
to  maintain  his  ground,  and  what  was  bad  rapidly  became  worse.  In  January,  1890, 
the  National  Cordage  Company  made  an  attempt  to  have  all  the  manufacturers  outside 
of  their  organization  join  them.  But  no  one  who  joined  the  National  knew  the  terms 
made  with  his  neighbor,  and  it  was  not  long  before  distrust  and  suspicion  ruined  the 
whole  project.  On  the  4th  of'  May,  1893,  the  National  passed  into  the  hands  of 
receivers,  although  they  had  paid  eight  per  cent,  dividends  from  1891  on  their  preferred, 
and  from  nine  to  ten  and  one-half  per  cent,  on  their  common  stock,  dividends  having 
been  declared  on  both,  three  days  before  their  failure. 

It  is  too  early  to  write  the  history  of  the  United  States  Cordage  Company,  which 
organization  succeeded  the  National  Cordage  Company.  Circumstances  scarcely  con¬ 
trollable  by  any  one  resulted  in  disaster,  and,  in  fact,  its  career  was  never  much  more 
than  a  continued  liquidation.  A  fall  in  the  prices  of  raw  material,  unexpected  and 
unprecedented,  together  with  other  misfortunes,  culminated  in  the  appointment  of 
receivers,  June  3,  1895. 

For  the  future  the  prospect  is  brighter,  and  with  lower  fixed  charges,  strict  economy, 
judicious  purchases  of  the  raw  material  as  needed,  a  substantial  cash  capital,  and 
especially  with  the  stock  of  binder  twine  in  the  country  practically  used  up,  for  the  first 
time  in  live  years,  we  may  hope  that  the  interest  on  the  bonds  may  be  easily  earned  and 
the  industry  again  give  fair  results. 


/ 


TUMBLE  OF  QUANTITIES 
OF  MANILA,  SIS^VE  HEMP,  &c. 
Manufactured  in  tlie  United  States,  1843  — 1897. 


Y  ears 

» 

Manila. 

Sisal. 

Total. 

Bales. 

Pounds. 

Bales. 

Bounds. 

Bounds. 

1843. 

27,820. 

270 

lbs.  7,511,400. 

- 

7,511,400 

1844. 

48,830. 

13,184,100. 

13,184,100. 

1845. 

47,438. 

12,808,260. 

12,808,260. 

1846. 

46,343. 

12,512,610. 

12,512,610 

1847. 

39,111. 

10,559,970. 

10,559,970. 

1848. 

62,120. 

16,772.400. 

16,772,400. 

1849. 

48,726. 

13,156,020. 

13,156,020. 

1850. 

72,769. 

19,647,630. 

19,647,630. 

1851. 

60,888. 

16,439,760. 

16,439,760 

1852. 

87,166. 

23,534,820. 

23,534,820. 

1853. 

106,376. 

28,721,520. 

28.721,520. 

1854. 

90,174. 

24,346,980. 

24,346,980. 

1855 

100,760. 

27,205,200. 

27,205,200. 

1856 

114,203. 

30,834,810. 

. 

30,834,810. 

1857. 

119,156. 

32,172,120. 

. 

. 

32,172,120. 

1858. 

110,682. 

29,884,140. 

29,884,140- 

1859. 

129,321. 

34,91 6,67  0. 

34,916,670. 

1860. 

143,618. 

38,776,860. 

1,393. 

320  lbs.  445,760. 

39,222,620. 

1861. 

105,322. 

28,436,940. 

627. 

200,640 

28,637,580. 

1862. 

120,878. 

32.637.060 

1,356. 

433,920 

33,070,980. 

1863. 

132,358. 

35,736,660. 

1,995. 

325  lbs.  648,375. 

36,385,035. 

1864. 

135,304. 

36.532,080. 

2,774. 

330  lbs.  915,420. 

37,447.500. 

1865. 

128,508. 

34.697,160. 

2,797. 

335  lbs.  936,995. 

35,634.155. 

1866. 

140,330. 

37,889.100. 

5,120. 

334  lbs.  1,710,080. 

39,599,180. 

1867. 

134,253. 

36,248,310. 

6,871. 

340  lbs.  2,336,140. 

38,584,450. 

1868. 

141,962. 

38,329,740. 

9,406. 

340  lbs.  3,198,040. 

41,527,780 

1869. 

136,483. 

36,850,410. 

16,646. 

350  lbs.  5,826,100. 

42,676,510. 

1870. 

133,338. 

36,001,260. 

19,893. 

6,962,550. 

42,963.810. 

1871. 

157,342. 

42,482,340. 

16,733. 

352  lbs.  5,890.016. 

48,372,356. 

1872. 

155,173. 

41,896,710. 

22,479. 

359  lbs.  8,069,961. 

49,966,671. 

1873. 

150,629. 

40,669,830. 

22,402. 

360  lbs.  8,064,720. 

48,734,550. 

1874. 

137,608. 

37,154,160. 

30,527. 

350  lbs.  10,684,450. 

47,838,610. 

1875. 

125,904. 

33,994,080. 

31,313. 

402  lbs.  12,587,826. 

46,581,906. 

1876. 

132,231. 

35,702,370. 

41,864. 

389  lbs.  16,285,096. 

51,987,466. 

1877. 

146,715. 

39,613,050. 

51,538. 

404  lbs.  20,821,352. 

60,434,402. 

3,769,839. 

1,017,856,530. 

285,734. 

106,017,441. 

1,123,873,971. 

Kir*  The  preceding  figures  were  compiled  from  various  sources  and  are  believed  to  be  substantially 
correct.  Those  given  below  are  the  aggregate  of  the  sworn  returns  of  Rope  delivered  by  the  members 
of  the  U.  S.  Cordage  Manufacturers’  Association. 


1878. 

Home  Trade. 

26,483,833. 

Export. 

4,213,964. 

1879. 

Home  Trade. 

33,839,404. 

Export. 

4,360,127. 

1880. 

Home  Trade. 

40,7.29,619. 

Export. 

3,840,748. 

30,697,797. 


38,199,531. 


44,570,367. 


14,085,037. 

1,878,825. 

-  15,963,862.  46,66J,659. 

19,672,800. 

1,936,093. 

-  21,608,893.  59,808,424. 

23,945,019. 

1,965.075. 

-  25,910,094.  70,480,461. 


0^”  The  following  figures  are  believed  to  be  accurate  estimates.  Canada  is  not  included,  unless  stated. 


Y  ears.  Manila. 


Sisal.  Total. 


Bales. 

Pounds. 

Bales. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

1881. 

216,706. 

58,510,620 

100,777 

.  38,803,060. 

97,313,680. 

1882. 

193,873. 

52,345,710. 

102,067. 

40,826.800. 

93,172,510. 

1883. 

184.489. 

49,812,030. 

115,239. 

46.095,600 

95,907,630. 

1884 

202.208. 

54,596,160. 

161,800. 

64.720,000. 

119,316,160. 

1885. 

190.960. 

51,550,200. 

178,650 

69  673,500. 

121.232,700. 

1886. 

177,221 

47,849,670. 

204.008. 

78,013,230. 

125,862,900. 

1887. 

260,000. 

70,200,000. 

205,000. 

76,875,000. 

147,075,000. 

1888. 

340,000. 

91,800,000 

190,000. 

71,250,000. 

163,050,000. 

1889. 

320,000. 

86,400,000. 

220,000. 

83,600,000. 

170,000,000. 

1890. 

260,000. 

70,200,000.  190,000. 

New  Zealand  20,000,000. 

68,400,000. 

1 

158,600,000. 

1891. 

330,000 

89,100,000.  240,000. 

New  Zealand.  20,000,000. 

86,400,000 

} 

195,500,000. 

1892.  332,000. 

[  Canada  included.  ] 

89,640,000.  342,000. 

New  Zealand  20,400,000. 

123,120,000. 

!■ 

) 

233,160,000. 

1893.  350,388. 

[  Canada  included.  ] 

94,604,760.  310,369. 

New  Zealand.  22,000,000 

114,836,530 

i 

231,441,290. 

1894.  334,377. 

[  Canada  included.  ] 

90,281,790.  308,193. 

New  Zealand.  10,000,000. 

110,949,480. 

211,231,270. 

1895.  404,900. 

[  Canada  included.  ] 

109,323,000.  400,028. 

New  Zealand.  2,000,000. 

144,010,080 

} 

255,333,080. 

1896.  404,006. 

[  Canada  included.  ] 

109,081,620. 
New  Zealand. 

359,110. 

2,000,000. 

129,279,600. 

} 

240,361,220. 

1897.  359,000. 

£  Canada  included.  ] 

.  96,930,000. 

474,591. 

170,852,760. 

} 

267,782,760. 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/cordageindustryOOunse 


7 

There  are  about  10,000  spindles  in  this  industry  at  the  present  time,  two-thirds  of 
which  are  ample  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  country.  The  annual  product  amounts  to 
$12,000,000.  The  figures  given  below  were  collected  with  much  care,  and  will  give  an 
approximate  idea  of  the  growth  of  this  industry.  Other  fibers  such  as  Russian  and  Italian 
hemps  and  jute,  have  at  times  been  used  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  the  writer  believes 
that  the  figures  he  has  collected  practically  give  what  is  needed  for  statistical  purposes. 

TABLE  OF  QUANTITIES  OF  MANILA,  SISAL  HEMP,  ETC., 


MANUFACTURED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  1843-94. 


Year. 

Manila. 

Sisal. 

Total  Pounds. 

Bales  of  270  Lbs. 

Pounds. 

Bales. 

Size  of 
Bales  in 
Pounds. 

Pounds. 

1843 . 

27,820 

7,5  1  I,4°° 

7,5  1  I,4°° 

1844 . 

48,830 

i3,i84,i°o 

13,184,100 

1845  . 

47>438 

1 2,808,260 

12,808,260 

1846 . 

46,343 

12,512,610 

12,512,610 

1847  . 

39, 1  1 1 

io,559,97o 

IO, 559, 970 

1848 . 

62,120 

16,772,400 

16,772,400 

1849 . 

48,726 

13,156,020 

13,156,020 

1850 . 

72,769 

19,647,630 

19,647,630 

1851 . 

60,888 

16,439,760 

16,439,760 

1852 . 

87,166 

23,534,820 

23,534,820 

i853  . 

106,376 

28,721,520 

28,72  1,520 

1854 . 

9°) 1 74 

24,346,980 

24,346,980 

i8S5 . 

100,760 

27,205,200 

27,205,200 

1856 . 

114,203 

30,834,810 

30,834,8l0 

^57 . 

H9U56 

32,172,120 

32,172,120 

1858 . 

1 10,682 

29,884,140 

29,884,140 

i859  . 

129,321 

34,9i6,67o 

34,9i6,67o 

i860 . 

143,618 

38,776,860 

L393 

320 

445,760 

39,222,620 

1861 . 

105,322 

28,436,940 

627 

200,640 

28,637,580 

1862 . 

120,878 

32,637,060 

L356 

433,920 

33,070,980 

1863 . 

132,358 

35,736,66o 

1 ,995 

325 

648,375 

36,385,035 

1864 . 

I35,3°4 

36,532,080 

2,774 

33° 

9I5,42o 

37,447,5°° 

1865 . 

128,508 

34,697,160 

2,797 

335 

936,995 

35,634,155 

1866 . 

140,33° 

37,889,100 

5,120 

334 

1,7 10,080 

39,599,  l8° 

1867 . 

134,253 

36,248,310 

6,871 

34° 

2,336,140 

38,584,45° 

1868 . 

141,962 

38,329,740 

9,406 

340 

3,198,040 

41,527,780 

1869 . 

136.483 

36,850,410 

1 6,646 

35° 

5,826,100 

42,676,510 

1870 . 

03,338 

36,001,260 

i9'893 

6,962,550 

42,963,810 

187 1 . 

I57.342 

42,482,340 

16,733 

352 

5,890,016 

48,372,356 

1872 . 

1 5  5, 1 73 

41,896,7  10 

22,479 

359 

8,069,96 1 

49,966,671 

1873 . 

150,629 

40,669,830 

22,402 

360 

8,064.720 

48,734,550 

1874 . 

137,608 

37,i54,i6o 

30,527 

35° 

10,684,450 

47,838,610 

i87S . 

125,904 

33,994,o8o 

3I>3I3 

402 

12,587,826 

46,581,906 

1876 . 

132,231 

35,702,370 

41,864 

389 

16,285,096 

51, 987, 466 

i877  . 

146,715 

39,613,050 

5 1 ,538 

404 

20,821,352 

60,434,402 

3,769,839 

1,017,856,530 

285,734 

106,01 7,441 

i,i23,873,97  i 

The  figures  given  below  are  the  aggregate  of  the  sworn  returns  of  rope  delivered 
by  the  members  of  the  United  States  Cordage  Manufacturers’  Association. 


MANUFACTURED  IN  1878,  1879,  AND  1880,  IN  FOUNDS. 


Year. 

Manila. 

Total. 

SlSA  L. 

Total.  Grand  Total. 

CO 

1"^ 

CO 

Home  Trade . 

26,483,833 

14,085,037 

Export . 

4,213,964 

i  ,878,825 

30,697,797 

15.963,862  46,661,659 

1879. . . . 

Home  Trade . 

33i839>4°4 

19,672,800 

Export . 

4,360,127 

1-936,093 

38>i99,53i 

21.608,893  59,808,424 

1880 .... 

Home  Trade . 

40,729,619 

23,945-oi9 

Export . 

3,84°'748 

1,965,075 

44,570-367 

25,9!°, °94  70,480,46l 

MANUFACTURED  SINCE  1880  IN  POUNDS. 


Manila. 

Sisal. 

Year. 

Bales. 

Pounds. 

Bales. 

Pounds. 

Grand  Total. 

1881 . 

2 16,706 

58,510,620 

100,777 

38,803,060 

97,3'3,68o 

1882 . 

193,873 

52,345-710 

I 02,067 

40,826,800 

93,172,510 

1883 . 

184,489 

49,812,030 

115,239 

46,095,600 

95,907,630 

1884 . 

202,208 

54,596,160 

161,800 

64,720,000 

1 19,3  *6, 160 

I885  . . 

190,960 

51,550,200 

178,650 

69,673,500 

121,232,700 

1886 . 

177,221 

47,849,670 

204,008 

78,013,230 

I  25,862,900 

1887 . 

260,000 

70,200,000 

205,000 

76,875,000 

147-075,000 

1888 . 

340,000 

91,800,000 

190,000 

71,250,000 

163,050,000 

1889 . 

320,000 

86,400,000 

220,000 

83,600,000 

I  70,000,000 

1890 . 

260,000 

70,200,000 

190,000 

68,400,000 

158,600,000 

1891 . 

330,000 

89,100,000 

240,000 

86,400,000 

i95-5°°-°°o 

1892 . 

332,000 

89,640,000 

342,000 

123,120,000 

233. 160,000 

1893 . 

350,388 

94,604,760 

310,369 

1  14,836.530 

231-441,290 

1894 . 

334,377 

90,281,790 

308,I93 

I  10,949,480 

21 1,231,270 

Canada  is  included  in  the  years  1892,  1893,  and  1894,  but  not  before,  on  manila. 
In  1890  and  1891  New  Zealand  added  20,000,000  pounds  to  the  consumption  lor  each 
year:  1892,  20,400,000  pounds;  1893,  22,000,000  pounds ;  and  1894,  10,000,000  pounds. 


